Fishermen against river diversions to fix Louisiana coast

WEST POINTE A LA HACHE - Fishermen are speaking out against plans to rebuild coastal Louisiana by siphoning Mississippi River freshwater and sediment into the Bayou State's disappearing sub-deltas.

Fishermen voiced their fears Tuesday about how new diversions could hurt fishing grounds. They spoke at a coastal restoration meeting at the historic Woodland Plantation on the Mississippi, southeast of New Orleans

In 2012, the Jindal administration released an ambitious 50-year, $50-billion-dollar restoration plan that relies heavily on rebuilding the badly eroded coast - built up over thousands of years by the Mississippi River's overflow waters and mud - by diverting the river's water and sediment into dying sub-deltas.

Fishermen, though, stand to lose a lot due to the effects freshwater diversions could have on commercial fishing species such as oysters and shrimp that need salty conditions.